Unexpected Happiness

There are a few days that everything seems to come together.  A couple weeks back on an inconsequential Saturday morning I called a friend of mine at 9:30 in the morning.  Normally neither she nor I would be awake this early, but for different reasons we both were.  We agreed to do brunch and I headed over to her place sans a morning shower.  She also said that she wasn’t planning to shower since she was meeting up with friends around 1:00 and would shower after brunch.

The day was perfect; it was high 70’s and I had the windows down and the sunroof open.  Run the Jewels, “Close Your Eyes (and count to fuck) “was playing, US-75 was strangely absent of traffic and the restaurants on Henderson were pretty empty.  Amy and I sat on the patio of Vickery Tavern about 30 minutes before Manchester United Vs West Bromwich kicked off and ordered a Bloody Mary with some chips and queso to start. The food was about what you would expect from bar food.  I chose the ever safe option of a burger with garlic and parmesan fries, she did a spinach omelet.  The Bloody Mary was alright, but it didn’t really excel in spice or flavor- it was just a standard Bloody Mary.  A gin and cucumber smash was next on the list once the food came.  It didn’t do anything for either of us.  The cucumber was diced, not smashed and strained so it would add a crunch to the drink when sipped or get caught in the straw if that was used.  I’ve learned from watching Jake at Black Swan make drinks that you muddle the cucumber and other items in the shaker, then add the liquor and ice, shake and pour through a mesh strainer to capture the flavor but not the mess.  This wasn’t thought though like his drinks are.  I moved to Kona Brewing Coconut Porter and she had a Blood & Honey from Revolver as our cucumber drinks were discarded.  After 3 days of rain the sun and perfect temperatures made the beers something akin to the water of life.  The conversation was great and she decided to blow off her friend who was extremely happy to hear that she wouldn’t have to fight through a hangover and come out for tacos.  

United lost 0-1 at Old Trafford on a free kick that snuck through off a deflection from the wall.  On an average day this would cause me to grumble all day about missed opportunities while cursing LVG for his boring possession based system.  Today, today was different.  It rained non-stop for the last 3 days and the conversation I had from the female the night before was lacking in intelligence and humor.  A 10 year old friend with a great smile and green eyes that shimmer in the recently introduced sun light was turning into a perfect morning for me. 

We ditched Vickery and went to one of our favorite spots- Cedar Social.  Cedar Social probably has the best Old Fashioned in Dallas.  They use a torch on a chunk of Oak and then place the glasses upside down on the wood to get the smoky flavor in it as they shake the whiskey and peel the rind.  The combination of smoked Oak and aged whiskey is phenomenal.  I’m sure it will cause me a new form of cancer, but what doesn’t these days?  Cedar Social also has the distinction of bartenders with amazing skill at mixing drinks while not retaining the uber doucheyness of their sister place, Smyth.  Jordan, our bartender, also made us a blackberry Julep since it was Derby day.  A drink that isn’t too sweet but has the right amount of bite was perfect to move out to their patio and view the city skyline.  Amy and I talked about her upcoming trip to Thailand, the person I need to freindzone faster than not (who I was out with the night before), who has the best patio in Dallas, what restaurant is the most fun to eat at, and how her cat is a bitch. 

We took off after a few hours to go our separate ways, but not before ordering the truffle fries and garlic aioli.  It was a warm 84 degrees by then so the windows came down and the sunroof was again opened.  We took the long way back to her place through the side streets and down town, listening to ‘Power Trip’ by J. Cole and revealing in the sky scrapers towering above us.  I dropped her off and went back to my place for a shower that was way overdue thinking about how great the day had been.